The February 1950 issue of Life magazine had a story about ski bums at Sun Valley and, there, modeling the good life was Beverly "Bebe" Wood of Bristol.

Today, she is sporting a PSIA pin and big snowflake sweater at the customer service desk at Ragged Mountain. Though no longer taking to the hill, still loves to be among other skiers.

"I just love skiing and I particularly love Ragged," she said, looking all perky at 9 a.m. New Year's Day as she handed out advice to skiers about how to get to this certain trail, or where to go to get rental poles.

She spends her winters at Ragged and her summers on Squam Lake, helps at at the Squam Lakes Science Center and has never distanced herself far from the outdoors.

The Marblehead native found her way out to ski Idaho in the days when the victorious 10th Mountain Division boys were back from World War II and starting up this crazy idea called a ski area out west.

A photo of her bent far forward, hanging on to her poles wearing gaberdines and a hand-knit sweater graced the publication. She was gorgeous. Another photo has her falling in the snow with a group of friends.

On the cover of that late February issue was a mushroom cloud touting the risks of the Atomic bomb.

She has seen many changes.

Bebe had been an instructor at the now-defunct King Ridge in New London in the 1980s. She came back to Ragged where she was director of the junior ski program for many years and a Professional Ski Instructors Association member.

She has also been an accomplished ski race, skater, a seasoned tennis player and even enjoyed windsurfing.

Her late husband Walter was a Dartmouth alum, and that led to years of outdoors fun with the Dartmouth Outing Club.

They would ski on boards with no edges. Imagine that. And the things were huge and you had lace-up boots and bear trap bindings and they did not come off easily. And you were lucky if there was a surface lift that would tear your mittens to shreds but get you at least up the hill instead of hoofing it.

"I mean you don't have to wax your skis anymore," she told Stephen Garfield of the Bristol Enterprise in a 1988 article "The bindings are light years better than what they used to be -- all this is good for the sport."

Through her injuries and bumps and bruises over the years, she has been able to get back up and out. But now, she said, at age 86, she is happy to watch the skiers and boarders out enjoying themselves at Ragged.